Slobberknocker Central Monday Night Recap #109
December 15th, 1997
WCW Monday Nitro:
Live/Taped: Live.
Length: Three Hours.
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina.
HOUR ONE Hosted By: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay and Larry Zbyszko.
- "This program is dedicated to law enforcement officers across the country
who have given their lives in the line of duty." A nice sentiment, but
why start off the show with it? (Being a cynic, I assumed it was because
Rick Rude was arrested last week). The answer to come later in the show.
- Schiavone and Tenay announce that Bret Hart will indeed appear at some
point in tonight's show. How does he know this? Eric Bischoff tell him?
So now Bischoff is letting WCW in on his plans? This is one of those
questions which never get answered, like "How is it the only people who
can find Sting are the guys who shoot the PPV promos?"
They show clips from the end of last week's show, including a new shot of
Hogan tearing off his shirt in preparation of fighting Sting.
- A near complete contingent of the New World Order heads to the ring. Even
Masahiro Chono is there. The only ones missing are the Great Muta and
Kevin Nash (who is apparently at home working out ... 12 ounces at a
time). The NWO, worried about Sting, has Konan check under the ring with
a flashlight, while Vincent checks the rafters with a pair of binoculars
(pretty funny). Bischoff gets on the mic and a few minutes of PPV hype
ensues. They go to break with the NWO not once mentioning Bret Hart.
- NWO promo #1: Larry Zbyszko gets punked.
- NWO promo #2: The Steiners get creamed.
- Snippet of the Flair interview from last week, where he talks about
Bret Hart.
- RAY TRAYLOR vs. VINCENT
I've gotta say this is the weakest Nitro opening match in a long time.
Traylor, who's just spent the last couple of months getting his ass
whooped by the NWO, is now slowly getting his revenge. He wins this match
easily and quickly, pinning him after the Sidewalk Slam. Even though the
house is full of NWO members, none of them make a run-in save. Raven's
Flock arrives during this match (again without Raven).
- Starrcade promo hyping the Giant vs. Kevin Nash.
- Nitro Girls.
- YUJI NAGATA (w/ Sonny Onoo) vs. DISCO INFERNO
Disco wins with the Chartbuster. Yay.
- FIT FINLEY vs. DEAN MALENKO
Eddie Guerrero again sits in for color commentary, but doesn't do as good
a job as last week. (He went back to being annoying). Finley wins this
okay match when Eddie goes to ringside to distract Malenko. Eddie jumps
on the apron. Dean knocks him off, which allows Finley to come up from
behind and nail him, then pin him after a Tombstone Piledriver.
- NWO promo #3: "Rowdy" Roddy Piper gets mudholed.
- LA PARK/PSYCHOSIS vs. JUVENTUD GUERRERA/REY MYSTERIO, JR.
Pretty good match, though highly choreographed (like most lucha style
matches). No blown spots, though. Match of the night with far too many
moves to recount here. The crowd, which had been fairly dead up til now,
really got into it. Guerrera and Mysterio win after a string of
incredible moves and near pins. Mysterio leaps from the top rope to the
floor, catching La Parka with a huracanrana. Meanwhile, Guerrera lands a
450 degree splash on Psychosis, then covers for the pin. Really one of
the best matches on Nitro this year. Sadly, the announcers spend a whole
lot of time talking about Bischoff, Hart, the NWO, the PPV, and just
about anything BUT the match itself (which is probably the only thing
which keeps this from earning a five star rating in my book). Commentary
can add or distract to a match and this was a case where their annoying
prattling distracted from the superb match going on in the ring.
- Mean Gene Okerlund is in the ring with a few cops. Yeah! They're finally
taking him away! Woo hoo! No wait ... it's a ceremony of some kind
(shucks!) Mean Gene brings out Arn Anderson, which was a surprise to me
(though not the fans apparently, as several Anderson signs were in the
crowd). Arn, after a few brief words about how he's glad to be back,
brings out Ric Flair. Both men receive huge reactions from the crowd.
Flair, representing WCW, gives the officers a check in the amount of
$15,000 for a memorial for Charlotte policemen who have been slain in the
line of duty.
Flair then removes his jacket, loosens up and throws out a challenge to
Curt Hennig for a match later in the show.
HOUR TWO Hosted By: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.
- Mean Gene has J.J. Dillon out for comments about the Bischoff match at
Starrcade. Eric quickly comes out and says that it's unfair that he has
to be in a match, and that he'll only appear if Dillon agrees to another
stipulation. Bischoff asks for knockouts via kick to be made legal.
Dillon agrees.
- NWO promo #4: Sting gets killed.
- Nitro Girls.
- Scott Hall comes out and conducts his survey. Can't they just do this at
house shows instead? I guess they need some way to kill time, especially
since the show is three hours this week. This is the first crowd in a
long time which not only loudly boos him, but also DOESN'T chant "NWO"
along with him. I guess this really is Horsemen territory.
- SCOTT HALL vs. CHRIS JERICHO
This being the rematch from an upset Jericho win many moons ago, Hall
wins quickly and easily, pinning him after the Outsider Edge.
- You think the NWO Party Videos with college student have been bad, wait
until you see a bunch of high school students do it!
- NWO promo #5: The Giant gets massacred.
- Clips from Mongo McMichael vs. the Barbarian from last week.
- MENG vs. STEVE "MONGO" MCMICHAEL
No match. They cut to the back, where Bill Goldberg has returned to lay
Mongo out. J.J. Dillon is quickly on hand to order Goldberg to take
Mongo's place in the ring.
- MENG vs. BILL GOLDBERG
No match. McMichael recovers and attacks Goldberg in the aisle. Security
and WCW officials pull the two apart.
- Nitro Girls.
- KONAN/SCOTT NORTON (w/ Vincent) vs. THE STEINER BROTHERS (w/ Ted DiBiase)
Norton seems to have recovered from whatever injury it was he had.
Nothing special here as Vincent runs in a few minutes in, causing a DQ
win for the Steiners. The NWO use their one man advantage to beat on the
Steiners until Ray Traylor runs in for the save.
- RANDY "MACHO MAN" SAVAGE vs. BOOKER T.
The first match of the second hour to have any fire to it. The two fight
in and out of the ring. Partway through the match a fat slug of a fan
runs into the ring. Savage kicks him in the head and the dope is promptly
dragged away by security and police. Savage goes on to win following an
elbow off the top. (This after the ref had been knocked out. Booker T. is
in control, but Liz helps Savage turn the tables on him. Liz then wakes
up the ref so that he can make the count).
HOUR THREE Hosted By: Schiavone, Tenay and Heenan.
- Nitro Girls.
- CHRIS BENOIT vs. RAVEN
For the FOURTH week in a row (beating the WWF's string of Jarrett
promises) Raven is a no-show in the ring. Scotty Riggs takes his place.
- CHRIS BENOIT vs. SCOTTY RIGGS
Riggs gets in some offense, but Benoit still has little difficulty
putting him away with the Crippler Crossface. He then gets on the mic and
taunts Raven (wherever he is) and the Flock, calling them a bunch of
"wannabes". He then dives into them, beating up on each until Hammer
stops him cold. Benoit is dragged into the ring and Saturn applies his
"Rings of" submission hold.
- They replay the moody Sting video they showed last week.
- Mean Gene and J.J. Dillon are in the ring. Again they seem to be holding
a coffee talk over the Bischoff/Zbyszko match. Eric comes out and again
says he doesn't have to do the match unless he gets another stipulation.
This time he wants to be able to pick the referee. Dillon makes him a
counter-proposal: Dillon will pick the ref, but will chose a member of
the NWO. (I'm sure most folks are thinking "Nick Patrick" at this point,
since when you're NWO, you're "NWO 4 life!") Bischoff agrees. Dillon
then brings out his choice:
Bret Hart.
Hart strolls to the ring, where he accepts the offer to be the special
referee. He says it's taken him a long time to get there and that it was
great to be in "Ric Flair country". Bischoff is overjoyed, but Hart
quickly crushes him when he says he knows too well what it's like to be
"screwed over by a referee!" and that Bischoff will have to win his own
way because he's on his own. Somewhere during all this they allege that
Hart is being paid "seven and-a-half million dollars a year" and has the
weekends off.
That's it? Man ... how lame. Hart's new music is an awful, almost country
version of his old theme. While he did get a good reaction coming in, it
was nothing close to what Flair and Anderson got. Many fans didn't seem
to know who Hart was, and there were only a few Hart signs in the crowd.
This was a bust and anyone who saw it and is honest about it knows it.
Why waste his debut going up against a taped RAW? Are they really THAT
worried about RAW's recent good ratings that they have to blow their big
moment in this anticlimactic a manner? This is a bell that can't be
un-rung. Hart's now there and his appearance as a referee at the PPV
isn't that big a deal-unless you still think he's NWO, which Tony and
Mike spent a great deal talking about during this, saying they never
really thought Hart was in the NWO and that the fans don't believe it
either. Yeah, right. WCW just wasted a major opportunity to please and
surprise the fans all for the sake of ratings. Hart's big "anti-WWF"
speech? All he did was confirm the WWF's story that the ref screwed him.
- NWO promo #6: Lex Luger gets whoomped.
- Mean Gene brings out the "Total Package". Buff Bagwell comes out instead.
Buff says he's now the "Total Package" after what he's done to Luger in
recent weeks. Schiavone, meanwhile, is backpedaling on his claim that he
never believed Hart was NWO. He now thinks he is, based on the money he's
being paid. Luger comes out and says he's cleared it with the production
crew for the two to have a match. Bagwell says they need a ref. Luger
brings out Nick Patrick. Bagwell says he isn't warmed up yet. Luger slaps
him, signaling the start of the match.
- LEX LUGER vs. BUFF BAGWELL
Short match. Luger is in control, then Bagwell, then Luger. Just as he
signals for the Torture Rack, Scott Norton and Vincent run in. Luger
nails them off the apron, but also accidentally knocks Bagwell over the
top rope, which earns Bagwell a win by disqualification.
- NWO promo #7: Diamond Dallas Page gets dismantled.
- CURT HENNIG vs. RIC FLAIR
Hennig works the crowd over the house mic for several minutes. They
actually cut to a commercial before Flair comes out.
The match hasn't even been going a minute when Scott Hall and the rest of
the NWO run in, drawing the DQ. Hennig nails Flair with the U.S. Title
belt and Flair is severely beaten. DDP and the Steiners run in for the
save. Flair, in front of his hometown crowd, is carried out by the
Steiners and Luger. DDP remains in the ring to challenge Hennig to come
back out.
Two more stupid fan runs in the ring. One is tackled and dragged out by
the ring announcer, while the other is grabbed by referee Randy Anderson,
who slaps a facelock on him until security can drag him out.
"Hollywood" Hogan and Bischoff come back out. Hogan calls Sting a coward.
The lights go out. They cut to the rafters where Sting is. Hogan says he
sees him. The lights go out again. This time they show Sting standing
atop the entryway to the ring on top of the "WCW Monday Nitro" logo.
Hogan challenges him to come to the ring. Sting drops down and starts to
head to the ring as the show ends.
- Next week: Nothing announced.
Comments:
Why was this show three hours? They could have easily done what was needed
in two-maybe two hours, twenty minutes . Last week, if I remember right,
Nitro featured eight matches. This week they started eleven, but only nine
really took place (ten if you actually count Flair vs. Hennig). The addition
of forty minutes only really added ONE match. RAW gets a lot of flack for
not showing enough in the ring. I'm sure most of those critics will overlook
the fact that this week's Nitro had over two hours of talk, interviews,
promos, highlight clips and commercials. WCW should really start paying us
fans to watch these infomercials for their PPV's.
With Flair about to feud with Hart (as is being suggested) what happened to
him tonight raises some interesting points. This was essentially Flair's
hometown. I find it interesting that he would allow himself to essentially
be "stretchered out". This really seems to send a message to Bret Hart:
either WCW is inconsiderate enough to bury a guy in front of their home
crowd, or Flair is man enough to do the job in front of his home crowd.
Either WCW is just as bad as the WWF, or Flair is more of a man than Hart.
Hey, don't blame me if that's the impression WCW gave me tonight.
THREE fan run-ins? There are no marks like drunken WCW marks. People, if
you've REALLY got to be part of the action, just rent the video game, hmmm?
For all its hype, this was barely more than an average Nitro. Hart's debut,
while significant, was too uneventful to be all that memorable (the lasting
memory being Hart standing there with a grin on his face, looking unsure as
to what to say). That and the tremendously good lucha match are all that
saved this show from being a three hour bomb.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
WWF RAW is WAR:
Live/Taped: Taped 12/9.
Length: Two Hours.
Location: Durham, New Hampshire.
WWF RAW Hosted By: Jim Ross, Michael Cole and Kevin Kelly.
- The lights dim as the Undertaker's entrance theme comes up. The Man From
the Dark Side makes his first RAW appearance in weeks. Michael Cole is in
the ring to get comments. It's announced that the Undertaker will face
Shawn Michaels in the main event at the Royal Rumble in a "Casket Match".
The Undertaker says he's proven that he can beat Michaels. The Undertaker
says he's only lost one casket match (which is almost true). It took ten
WWF Superstars to beat him that time, says the Undertaker, and by his
count there aren't ten members of DeGeneration X.
The lights dim and the red glow rises as Kane comes out. Stepping over
the top rope, he stands face-to-face, toe-to-toe with his brother. Paul
Bearer says this is a nice family reunion, only marred by the absence of
the Undertaker's parents, whom he killed when he burned down the funeral
home all those years ago. Kane lays in a slap to the face. He tries a
second, which the Undertaker blocks. They stare for a few more seconds,
then the Undertaker slowly leaves the ring.
- TAKA MICHINOKU vs. JERRY "THE KING" LAWLER
Jim Ross hypes the upcoming UFC PPV during this match.
A decent match between these two. Lawler actually keeps up with the
youngster, trading drop-kicks with him early in the match. The relative
difference in size and strength is played up, with some of Taka's high
flying moves working; some not. Lawler nails his trademark piledriver,
but skips the pin to lay in some more punishment instead. He then misses
a fistdrop off the turnbuckles. Incredibly enough, Taka is able to hoist
Lawler up into the Michinoku Driver. He covers for the pin, but is
attacked at the two-and-a-half mark by Brian Christopher. Taka by DQ.
Some good old fashioned hijinks ensues as Lawler and son try a
doubleteam, but Taka ducks and Brian hits his pop in the mush.
Heading into the break we get comments from the Legion of Doom regarding
their upcoming main event match against DeGeneration X. Hawk calls the
three "Michael Bolton before the haircut, Fabio and RuPaul!"
- Clips from last week of Austin forfeiting the IC belt. Rocky Maivia and
the Nation of Domination come to the ring. "The Rock" calls himself the
"People's Champion", as well as the "Best Intercontinental Champion of
All Time". Faarooq tries to add something, but Rocky say "with all due
respect, the Champ is trying to talk!" (which earns a sour look from
Faarooq). Rocky, calling Austin a "thief in the night" orders him to come
out with his belt.
Wouldn't you know it, business is about to pick up ...
*KEE-RASH!*
Austin says you don't order him to do anything. He says he already ran
his truck over his NOD friends. Austin tells him to stick around, that
he'll show him where his Intercontinental Title belt is. After Austin
leaves Rocky says he has one hour to bring his belt out, or he and the
NOD will come looking for him. Rocky lets Faarooq know when it's time to
go. Nope, things don't look too good in the NOD camp.
Going to break they run one of those "WWF Attitude" spots: this one is
devoted to Ken Shamrock.
- DUDE LOVE vs. ROAD DOG (w/ "Bad Ass" Billy Gunn)
Ross announces that Austin has left the building. Gunn joins the
announcing crew for color commentary. As the match progresses Ross says
Gunn and his partner remind him of "New Age Outlaws". Gunn says he likes
that and that he's glad that he (Gunn) thought it up. Looks like it'll be
the team's new name.
Okay match, great ending. Similar to last week's match between Dude and
Gunn. The match spills to the floor a couple of times. The first time
Gunn interferes. The second time Dude pops Gunn, who wasn't paying
attention. Dude goes on to dominate the Dog, pinning him cleanly after
the "Sweet Shin Music".
Gunn runs in with a chair, but Dude knocks it away from him and
clotheslines him to the floor. The two brawl up the ramp. Road Dog joins
in and he and Gunn double suplex Dude on the stage. They nearly push him
off the side of the stage, but Dude kicks them off. A few referees move
in to break things up. They continue to fight, again with Dude being
teased as going over the side. Gunn nails him with a DDT. As Dude
staggers to his feet, Dog and Gunn grab a referee and throw him into
Dude. Dude goes flying off the stage, skipping off the end of a table and
onto the concrete floor! Dude lies motionless as the refs call for help.
Ross asks if they should go to commercial. Gunn and Dog look puzzled and
worried, asking what went wrong and if he's okay. They come down to where
Dude is to check him out. The illusion of a horrible spot gone awry
quickly evaporates, however, when Road Dog and Gunn start laying in boots
to the "unconscious" Dudester. The refs chase the two off as Ross again
calls for help. The show abruptly cuts to a commercial.
I'm assuming he was supposed to go through the table, as it looked to be
gimmicked on the bottom. Instead he hit the end, which merely caused one
leg to collapse. Instead of going through it, he sort of bounced off it,
knocking it over to expose the bottom. In any case it was a great spot in
the signature Mick Foley tradition.
- Back from the break they replay the shot four times, each from a
different angle. They show that he's still alive, having been able to
slowly get up during the break.
- MARK HENRY vs. THE BROOKLYN BRAWLER
Squash. Henry wins with a bearhug. Watching this match was like watching
bear slap around a salmon.
Ross confirms that Austin has left the building, but that he's taken a
WWF cameraman with him.
- They show footage of Owen Hart's attack on Shawn Michaels at the last
PPV, a snippet of Shawn's "nugget" speech, and Owen's subsequent attack
after the strip poker game.
WWF WAR ZONE Hosted By: Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler.
- Vince McMahon comes out wearing a jacket that probably hasn't seen the
light of day since Nixon was in the White House. McMahon, over the house
mic, calls for Owen Hart to come to the ring. He says he's been spotted
in the arena. Vince says Owen's antics have "endangered the safety of the
fans". Vince says he doesn't give a damn about Shawn Michaels, but that
doesn't excuse Owen's running in through the crowd. Vince reminds Owen
that he's still under WWF contract and that as such Vince is ordering him
to the ring.
Owen works his way through the crowd. For the first time in his entire
WWF career the guy looks cool! He's now sporting a beard and dark shades.
He's got "bad-ass" written all over him (no, not literally). The crowd
chants "Owen!" as Cornette and Ross play up the possibility that the
younger Hart brother is really just coming out to destroy McMahon. Vince
asks Owen "what's this all about and who do you think you are?"
"Who do I think I am? Who the HELL do you think you are?! I don't owe you
a (*bleep*)" apology, I don't owe you a (*bleep*) thing! I'm sick and
tired of trying to please everybody else around here, and the (*bleep*)
stops RIGHT HERE! Now my brother ... Bret ... and Neidhart ... and
Bulldog, they did what they had to do, and now it's time for me to do
what I have to do, and that's stay right here in the World Wrestling
Federation! I spent nine years breaking my back day-after-day to earn a
reputation in this company, and nobody ... and I mean NOBODY, is going to
run me out of this company and you know EXACTLY who I'm talking about!"
Vince says he has a pretty good idea who Owen means; that he's talking
about Shawn Michaels, and that this is all about the one title in the WWF
that has eluded him: the World Heavyweight Title.
"How stupid are you-is that what you think this is about?! Do you think I
give a damn about a worthless title: a piece of leather with tin on it?
This is real life Vince. This is real life-MY life ... MY reputation ...
MY respect ... MY dignity. And McMahon, don't you get me wrong ... I am
not ASKING you, I'm TELLING you exactly what I am going to do! And that
is ... and that is make Shawn Michaels' life a living HELL! You can call
me the 'Sole Survivor', you can call me the 'Black Sheep' I really don't
give a (*bleep*)! Shawn Michaels ... this is not a game, this is real
life and you started it ... and it's time for this 'little nugget' to end
it!"
Vince then calls out a couple of security guards to escort Owen out,
adding that next week he'll compete in the ring and that he'll walk down
the aisle like every other WWF Superstar. The two the stare down, with
Owen suddenly grabbing McMahon by the lapels, giving him an earful.
Vince gets that disgusted look we are all familiar with. The policemen
escort Owen out as the crowd chants his name.
On a night which saw Bret nearly phone in his Nitro debut, Owen comes out
and delivers the best damned interview of his career.
- They show footage of Sable in her potato sack from last week, making note
of the fact that Tom Brandi beat Mero by countout. Ross then announces
that Dude Love has been diagnosed with fractured ribs at a nearby
hospital. In an Austin update, he is somewhere at a nearby bridge, and
the WWF is trying to relay a signal back from him.
- TOM BRANDI vs. THE SULTAN (w/ the Iron Sheik)
Short match which, although the Sultan dominated, Brandi wins after
interference by the Sheik backfires. Brandi rolls up the Sultan for the
pin.
Marc Mero runs in and clips him from behind, beating on him as the crowd
chants "Sable!"
- The Royal Rumble. January 18th.
- As the NOD head to the ring they replay the scenario from last week where
Austin forfeited the title-intercut with a veritable "greatest hits"
string of Stunner footage, featuring the various WWF officials and
announcers being laid out; as well as footage from the PPV where Austin
used his truck in the match. They also show post-RAW footage from last
week, showing Vince McMahon brandishing a chair and taunting Austin into
returning to the ring.
The Rock is in the ring and he says that Austin has run out of time,
proved he's a coward, and has finally pissed the Rock off. He and the NOD
are going to come looking for him.
Austin appears on the Titan-Tron from a remote location on a bridge. This
isn't a small walkway over a stream, mind you. We're talking a major two
lane highway bridge fifty feet or more over a river. Austin starts
chucking stuff in for Rocky to use: a mask, snorkel, regulator, air tank,
flippers, a cell phone to call Austin and Rocky's own beeper. He wraps up
by chucking the Intercontinental Title belt in, saying he doesn't give a
damn about it, the WWF or Maivia. "The Intercontinental Title sleeps with
the fishes tonight!" exclaims Ross. Rocky looks ready to blow a gasket.
On the way to the break the WWF invites us all to join them for a special
Christmas edition of RAW next week.
- They replay what just happened, which is handy because the live segment
went up against Bret Hart's appearance on Nitro.
- Vince McMahon appears in a pre-taped interview titled "the Cure for the
Common Show". McMahon explains how the WWF is changing its approach,
becoming more mature and adult oriented. He says that the WWF embodies
"sports entertainment", which draws inspiration from other accepted forms
of entertainment on television, such as MTV, soap operas, cartoons like
"King of the Hill", shows like "Seinfeld" and even talk shows like "Jerry
Springer". He says it's time to stop insulting the intelligence of the
fans, and that the days of the "super hero who tells you to 'say your
prayers and take your vitamins' are passť!" He says that because of this
new approach, which no longer relies so heavily on the worn out formula
of "good guys vs. bad guys", parents should exercise some discretion when
allowing their children to watch RAW and the WAR ZONE. Parents can rest
assured, though, that the WWF's weekend shows such as Live Wire and
Superstars, which are still aimed at children, contain suitable content
which parents can confidently allow their children to watch. Vince says
it's the WWF's ability to change along with the fans which have kept them
on top all these years, and that it's now become time to change to suit
the wishes of the current viewing audience.
So there.
- STEVE BLACKMAN vs. MIGUEL PEREZ (w/ Los Boricuas)
Blackman has some potential, but doesn't show much of it here. He wins
quickly with a German Suplex.
- Comments from DeGeneration X. Shawn and Hunter play "Rock, Paper,
Scissors" to decide who will face Owen Hart next week. Hunter wins.
- DEGENERATION X (w/ Chyna) vs. THE LEGION OF DOOM
The match starts off well, with Michaels laying the role of human ping
pong ball. Things then slow down to the formula LOD match: Hawk takes all
the punishment while Animal is prevented from tagging in. Animal makes
the hot tag after a quick commercial break. He's cleaning house when the
New Age Outlaws head to ringside.
Road Dog whips out a bottle of ether (I guess) and pours some on a hanky,
which he shoves in Hawk's face. Animal has both Shawn and Hunter in hand,
but falls victim to a low blow from behind by Chyna. The ref calls for
the DQ. Hawk is then thrown in the ring and the NAO shave off half his
inverted mohawk. Animal, who has been draped over the top rope and held
there by Chyna, is grabbed by all four men and powerbombed through the
announcers table! Hawk the receives a legdrop off the top from Gunn and
an elbowdrop off the top from Michaels. After a bit of posing by the
group the NAO head up the ramp. The show ends with Michaels shown
watching their departure, giving an approving nod and visibly cogitating
as to whether maybe-just maybe, these two guys might be DeGeneration X
material.
- Next week: Owen Hart vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley ... sort of.
Comments:
A pretty good RAW from top to bottom. It faltered a bit in the last half
hour, but picked up and ended on a high note.
They're really doing a good build towards the Royal Rumble. With nearly a
month to go, they've only announced one match and named one entrant into the
Rumble itself (Ken Shamrock). They've also got enough things going on that
it's not as simple as one may have previously thought to figure out how
things are going to line up leading to WrestleMania. Will Shawn face Steve
Austin? Will he face Owen Hart? Will Owen win the title before then and face
Austin? What about the Undertaker and Kane? Where does Jeff Jarrett and Ken
Shamrock fit into all this? What about Rocky Maivia? Where's the British
Bulldog? Tons of possible storylines and angles to work on. All they need is
to flesh out the undercard a bit, build up the Light Heavyweight division,
get some tag teams going and things will look pretty good for the WWF again.
I think giving us a break from Goldust this week was a good idea. Don't
worry, he'll be back next week.
They really played the end of the show up as the total destruction of the
LOD. This match apparently ended their commitment to the WWF. Most folks
figure they'll make a triumphant return sometime next month or so, but the
possibility of them just showing up in WCW probably can't be ruled out.
Right now they're just taking a break.
There's a story floating around that the Bulldog has a "30 day window of
opportunity" in which he can sign with any other wrestling company he want,
but only if he or they buy out his contract. The reported figure is
somewhere around $150,000. With that on top of what the Bulldog would be
demanding (money up there in the Bret Hart range) and his bad knee, most
figure he'll return to the WWF rings eventually. He's still penciled in to
face the European Champion at the next United Kingdom PPV in February.
Anyone else mark out over Owen this week? Being as I can honestly say that
I've been pulling for him to get a much bigger singles push over the last
two years, it's nice to see him once again get a shot at the World Title.
Unless I'm mistaken, the WWF has a house show tour scheduled through Canada
again in January, as well as a pair of RAW tapings. Can Owen replace Bret?
I guess we'll find out next month.
Next week's RAW has already been taped, which allows the wrestlers to have
Christmas week off. From what I hear the Undertaker really needs it, as he's
been very stressed out lately over an illness that his father or another
family member is suffering from. The last RAW of the year, on the 29th, will
again be live. Look for a title to change hands next week.
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The Bottom Line:
The ratings are in (courtesy Bob Ryder's "1Wrestling.com" site) and they
look MIGHTY interesting:
* NITRO continued to receive strong ratings, drawing a 4.1 composite for
the three hour program based on hourly ratings of 4.4, 3.9, and 4.1.
* RAW had a 2.7 composite on hourly ratings of 2.8 and 2.6.
* NITRO had quarter hour ratings of 3.8, 4.1, 4.7, 4.9, 4.1, 3.5, 3.6, 4.3,
4.0, *4.3, *4.0, and 4.0.
* RAW had quarter hour ratings of 2.8, 3.0, 3.0, 2.6, 2.9, *2.5, *2.4, and
2.5.
* The NITRO replay drew numbers of 1.9, 1.5, 1.3, for a 1.6 composite.
Nitro saw a drop in their ratings from last week, going from a 4.3 composite
to a 4.1 this week. Had the show only been two hours, the composite would
have been a 4.2 (which isn't entirely accurate since the content would have
been different, thus the ratings may have been different). RAW saw an almost
equivalent drop, going from a 3.0 last week to a 2.7 this week. 2.7 is a
strong score considering the show was taped. The highlighted (*) breakdown
scores above indicate the segments during which time Bret Hart appeared. As
you'd expect, RAW dropped a bit while Nitro went up. What's incredible is
that Hart DID NOT have the highest rated segment on Nitro! The
cruiserweights and Ric Flair outscored Bret Hart handily. While the ratings
across the board were excellent for Nitro, they didn't outperform other
shows in which the viewership has, in the past, hit the much vaunted "5.0"
mark (which was the level many predicted for this week's show).
Draw your own conclusions. Certainly the big Monday Night Football game may
have played a big part in drawing viewers away from both shows. Nonetheless,
it's ironic that the only thing that even put a dent in RAW's ratings this
week was Bret Hart, with the effect being far below what WCW must have hoped
for. Did the gamble pay off? Yes, if you consider drawing in less viewers
than the previous week a "success". Nitro, at best, just managed to keep
their average amount of viewers while "beating up" on a taped show that was
already expected to do lower numbers anyway. With Hart's debut only pulling
in "business as usual" numbers, it's hard to believe that Starrcade will hit
a "2.0" buyrate just because of his involvement, as some have speculated.
I'd say a "1.5" is even an unrealistic goal.
[Again, credit for the ratings go to "1Wrestling.com".]
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This Week's Winner: RAW.
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"Slobberknocker Central" and "Monday Night Recap" are copyright 1997 by
John Petrie, and all opinions expressed therein are his own, and not those
of "Internet Access, Inc". Check the "Slobberknocker Central" main page for
info on how to receive the "Recap" free via E-Mail every week.
Volume One, Number 109 of the "Monday Night Recap", December 15th, 1997.
John Petrie
petrie@bji.net
Slobberknocker Central
http://www.bji.net/pages/petrie/index.html